Cameron Unveils New Mid-Mallets

Rick Young

Rick Young

Two distinct head styles — blade and mallet — have demarcated the putter category for much of the past three or four decades, but it has become reasonable, if not practical, to add a third option to this product division.

‘Not quite a mallet, not really a blade’ personifies the recent trend toward mid-mallet offerings, a category designed to provide end users with a visual and performance-related compromise between small and sleek blades and larger, higher-moment-of-inertia, easier-to-line-up mallets.

Titleist’s master craftsman pulled the curtain back this week on his new Select Fastback 2 and Select Squareback 1.5, two mid-mallet performance-laden putters with distinct neck options meant to strike a blade-mallet balance while maintaining some distinctive characteristics for stroke engagement and setup qualities.

“We are seeing more and more players gravitate to these nice, compact head shapes,” Cameron said in a Titleist generated release. “They’re not blades and not exactly mallets. They’re mid-mallets.”

As he has done routinely during his 24 years with Titleist Cameron and his Putter Studio team in San Marcos, Calif., took advantage of tour staff feedback to prototype and finalize the new Select putters.

The Fastback 2

Highlighted by the Select line’s multi-material construction, both of the 2019 putters are built from a combination of precision-milled, 6061 aircraft aluminium in the face and sole and 303 stainless steel in the rest of the head.

The Fastback 2 and Squareback 1.5 remain in their radiant but raw, bead blasted stainless finish and are accented with smaller double-milled versions of Cameron’s renowned “cherry dots” found in the back of his blade offerings.

Those appear in the sole of the Fastback 2 and the heel-toe of the Squareback 1.5.

Both new models come stock with the Select line’s two customizable heel-toe weights, step-less steel shaft and a Cameron exclusive black and silver Matador mid-size grip.

“I’m always striving for that balance between elegance and performance,” Cameron told me during last year’s PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. “Our goal is always to produce the best products. We’ve never lost our focus ever on what our goals are. Now, it’s making the best, better, not changing to change but changing to enhance.”

The Squareback 1.5

The plumber’s neck on the Select Fastback 2 model, like previous incarnations, has exactly one shaft of offset while this new version has had subtle changes incorporated to the top-line for a slightly thinner overall look at address to go along with a reduction in face height.

On the Squareback 1.5 the mini-slant neck helps square off the head shape and overall look for players seeking a strong visual at address, according to Cameron. The Titleist putter guru also updated the draft angle to help accommodate the new neck profile, which is supposed to produce slightly more toe flow than the Fastback 2.

A top-line thickness decrease and reduced overall face height, like its counterpart, was also initiated on the Squareback 1.5.

The new mid-mallet models will be on display in the Titleist booth for attendees of next week’s PGA Show in Orlando.

Consumer availability is set for Friday, February 15 at a price of $499.